Russian Official Says Foreign Trade Volume Held Up Despite Sanctions

Russia has maintained its overall volume of foreign trade despite Western sanctions, Maxim Oreshkin, deputy chief of staff of the Russian presidential administration, said, according to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS.

"There was an attempt to exclude Russia from global trade and disrupt our country's economic development," Oreshkin was quoted as saying.

TASS did not provide additional figures or independent verification of the trade data referenced in Oreshkin's remarks. The report did not specify the venue or date of the statement, nor did it include responses from independent economists or Western officials.

Russia has faced extensive sanctions from the United States, European Union and allied countries since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, targeting its energy exports, financial sector and access to certain technologies. Russian officials have repeatedly stated that the country has adapted to these measures by redirecting trade toward other markets, though the extent and sustainability of such shifts remain subjects of debate among independent analysts.

This report is based solely on the TASS account of Oreshkin's comments; further details on methodology or supporting data for the trade volume claim were not provided in the source material.